Spotting or tracer rifles are used to determine range to a target. In general, the spotting rifle is set for a specific range and a tracer or burning round is fired to see if the selected range was accurate. If not, corrections are made until the correct range is achieved.
Frequently, a spotting rifle is coupled to another launching device. That is, the spotting rifle is used to select the range for the launching device. Accordingly, it is desirable to align the site of the spotting rifle with that of the launching device. To do this, the spotting rifle and launching device must be attached to one another. Generally, a series of alignment adjustments are made before the two are fixedly coupled to one another. The adjusting and locking mechanism(s) used to couple the spotting rifle and launching device must be capable of aligning and then stabilizing the relationship therebetween, and withstanding recoil forces. This is increasingly important and more difficult as the desired launch range of operation increases.